1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to cellular telephones, and more particularly to a cellular telephone having a voice recorder memory for recording a voice message, and an email address memory for storing an email address so that the voice message can be forwarded to the email address.
2. Description of Related Art
The prior art includes various cellular telephones that include a voice recorder memory for recording voice messages while the user is talking on the cellular telephone. The most preferred cellular telephone of this type, shown in Silberfenig, U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,594, teaches a combination cellular telephone and sound storage device that enables the user to make confidential notes to himself while talking on the telephone and later play the messages back. This is useful for many purposes, including taking down phone numbers, driving directions, and even making notes about the conversation, including notes that are confidential and that the user does not want the other party to hear. At a later time, when convenient, the user can replay the notes and write down important information.
Another cellular telephone that enables the user to record notes is taught in Whitfield, U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,824. The Whitfield cellular telephone, unlike the Silberfenig device, records the entire conversation and does not allow the user to make confidential notes to himself, or exclude the other party from being recorded. The Whitfield cellular telephone also includes the capability to record the conversation to a voice mailbox. This is useful because it transfers the message to a location where the user is expecting to receive and record messages. However, the user is not able to route a message to different locations, so the feature is of limited value.
Various additional electronics products are also known in the art. A cellular telephone having call answering circuitry is taught by Helferich et al., US, RE.34,976, which describes an analog-to-digital voice storage cellular telephone for recording voice messages while the user is away from the cellular telephone unit. In a preferred embodiment, the analog-to-digital voice storage cellular comprises call-answering circuitry which is activated after a predetermined number of rings. Detection circuitry waits to detect an SAT signal during a preset period of time. Once the SAT signal is detected a prerecorded outgoing message is transmitted to the caller. The voice storage cellular telephone records incoming voice messages, which are retrieved and replayed by users at their convenience. If the SAT signal is not detected, call-terminating circuitry immediately terminates the call. In accordance with one aspect, voice messages may be recorded at the central cellular station in real time, subsequently transmitted to the voice storage cellular telephone at a high speed and reproduced at normal speed to reduce air transmission time and cost.
Burke et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,813 describes a digital voice storage system adapted for use in a multiple unit land mobile radio communications system. The system utilizes a PSK signaling system with fixed length data packets to control a system capable of multiple message storage of speech at mobile stations. Up to eight 64K dynamic RAMS are used in conjunction with a microprocessor to store up to 42 seconds of speech comprising up to eight separate messages. In addition, the system permits base interrogation of mobiles to determine if a message has been stored for review by the base operator and to determine the remaining recording capacity and total recording capacity of the mobile.
Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,752 describes a cordless telephone with a normal tape recorder or micro-cassette tape recorder operated by touch and is coupled to the main body of the telephone. The tape recorder operates on a cordless remote-control unit at remote distances from the basic unit by means of a control switch (record, play basic, rewind, fast forward, stop) attached to the remote unit. This arrangement provides a remote control record/play back cordless telephone. The remote unit includes a digital encode circuit that converts the signal of a selected function for control switch into a digital signal corresponding to the selected function, FM-modulates and amplifies said digital signal, and then cordlessly transmits it to the base unit. On the other hand, the base unit includes a complementary digital decode circuit and transceiver.
Nagata et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,657 describes a voice recording card that can record and reproduce a message and when it is inserted into a transmitting and receiving apparatus it can transmit and receive the message. In a recording mode, the message is applied through a microphone, converted into digital signal by an analog/digital converter and is recorded in a memory and is transmitted through an interface to the transmitting and receiving apparatus. In a receiving mode, the content of the message received by the transmitting and receiving apparatus is recorded in the memory through the interface and is read out, in a reproduction mode, from the memory and converted into an analog signal by a digital-analog converter to be outputted from a speaker. The card comprises a central processing unit that controls an electric structure of the card in response to the mode designated by a mode designation key included in a keyboard.
Nagashima, U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,761 describes an on-vehicle mobile radio telephone with an answering function, having the capability to automatically change the phone mode to an answer mode even if an occupant forgets to set an answer mode switch when leaving a vehicle and does not shift from phone mode to the answer mode while the vehicle is in motion. The on-vehicle mobile radio telephone with an answering function includes a message recording device; a handset; a channel for relaying a call signal to the handset; a call detecting device for detecting a call through the channel to generate a call detect signal; and a control device for executing an automatic reception mode to connect the channel to the message recording device according to the call detect signal with an answer mode designated. The control device includes an accessory switch (ACC) detecting device for detecting whether an accessory switch of a vehicle is on or off, whereby the automatic reception mode is initiated when the accessory switch (ACC) detecting device detects that the accessory switch is off.
Parvulescu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,460 describes a telephone handset and remote controller apparatus for transmitting information such as phone numbers and addresses for storing in a messaging device. The telephone handset and remote controller apparatus includes a housing and a plurality of actuators disposed on the housing for allowing information to be input into memory in the telephone handset and remote controller apparatus and to allow control of the operation of the telephone handset and remote controller apparatus. A radio-frequency transceiver included in the telephone handset and remote controller apparatus is responsive to the actuation of the actuators, and transmits a television control signal for controlling a television actuators, transmits a first radio-frequency signal encoded with the information in response to actuation of at least a second of the actuators, and transmits to the messaging device, a second radio-frequency signal encoded with the information in response to actuation of at least one-third of the actuators. The radio-frequency transceiver in the telephone handset and remote controller apparatus receives radio-frequency communication signals from an associated base station, and if the messaging device is bi-directional, also receives messaging signals from the messaging device. The telephone handset and remote controller apparatus may also have a data connector so that it may be connected to a computer in order to receive downloaded information such as software updates and the like and transmit such information to the messaging device.
Kohler, International, WO 90/13196 describes a device for telecommunication systems, in particular a telephone or radio set, or telephone station of a two-way intercom system, with a component containing at least one loudspeaker and one microphone, is designed to be held in the hand during use. An electronic device preferably a dictaphone unit, comprising a driver for a recording medium a recording and play-back unit and associated operating elements, a radio receiver unit, a personal call receiver, a device for remote polling of devices such as alarm systems, sensors, etc., a TV set, an answering machine or a device which plays and records messages, an answering machine or a device which plays and records messages, an electronic storage device or an acoustic room-monitoring device, preferably with display, is incorporated into the component and coupled electrically to the latter. Alternatively, the component is designed to be coupled mechanically and electrically to the electronic device.
The above-described references, hereby incorporated by reference, teach cellular telephones that record messages. However, the prior art does not teach a cellular telephone that allows a user to record voice messages made by the user while he or she is talking in the cellular telephone, and then forward the voice messages of one or more of a plurality of other persons via email. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.